Stoplight Shopping

One of the unique facets of driving in Santiago is all the activity that goes on when you are in your car at the stoplight. When you stop, the first thing you watch for is the batallion of guys that want to wash your windshield. Sometimes it is hard to see them coming since they throw their sponge from several feet away!





Next come the newspapers. You can get updates on the news with morning and afternoon editions.




After that comes the food: fruit, water, juice, crackers, cookies, popsicles, cheese, etc.
Not far behind come the hats, cellular accessories, windshield wipers, toys, jewelry, sunglasses, etc...











So, come to Santiago to enjoy our Stoplight Shopping. You can make your purchases from the comfort of your car. It's easy on the feet and you get new choices at each stoplight. Come to Santiago where we shop at each stop!

A Fleeting Vapor

This past week we had news of the death of a young woman we had known from the time she was one year old. As an infant she had been adopted by a young couple in the congregation where we were serving. Her parents brought her to church where she took instruction classes and became a confirmed member of the congregation. This past week her time of grace came to and end.

We all hope for a long and full life, but when we look at the world around us we see that this is not always the case. Our lives are truly not our own, and when as believers we realize the price at which we were bought, it fills our lives with joy and thankfulness and gives us purpose in all we do.

How faithful and generous God was to this young girl, using her parents to bring her to the Word so she could know her Savior. Every day our Savior puts people in our path, souls to be witnessed to and given the opportunity to hear about Jesus' life of fulfilling the Law for us and giving His life in exchange for us to enjoy eternity in heaven.

This is what motivates us to witness to all those who live around us. Sometimes our actions and words seem like they have little or no effect, but we trust that God is working. He is continually holding His arms out to a lost and fallen world. What an amazing task the Lord has committed to us. (Amazing that in spite of our sinfulness he would even consider us to handle his precious gospel). We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

God used these parents to bring his gospel to the heart of their adopted daughter. May he also use us to witness to many others, to make his appeal - through us - to a fallen world.

Thirty Years

This past week we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. When we told people how many years we have been married, their jaws would drop! They are not used to people staying together for that many years.


In this society it is common for a man and woman to begin a family, but after a number of years, the man (usually) leaves this family unit and joins together with another woman. They begin a new family. This cycle just continues and repeats itself. After some time, the abandoned woman may find a new man and begin a second family with him. Families become a very entangled web. So, when you ask someone about their family they have to think about it for a moment. The most common response is to tell you how many siblings they have with the same mother and then rattle off how many half-brothers and sisters they have through subsequent parental unions.


Did you ever think that simply staying married could be a way to witness to the world? Being faithful to your spouse is a reflection of God's faithfulness to us and to to his promises. With God's help and blessing, every Dominican couple that is confirmed in the Lutheran church becomes a witness to their family and to the people around them of God's faithfulness to us and of the faithfulness that he desires from us toward our spouse.

The concept of faithfulness is not very strong here, so it is a struggle for many to not give up and take the easy way out and follow the example that society gives them. It is not easy for them because they have not seen faithfulness in action, and it is not easy for us because sin and pride get in the way. But together, we are all asking God to increase our faith and trust in His faithfulness and help us be faithful to Him so we can be his witnesses to the world. We want to give thanks and praise to Him who shows us his faithfulness every day.

New Members

On Sunday, July 5, Pastor Juan Tavarez and several members of the congregation "Soldiers of Christ" were received into fellowship with the WELS congregations in the Dominican Republic. In a joyful service these new members confessed their faith in Jesus alone and expressed gratitude to their Savior for this gift of faith and to their teachers for sharing the truth of salvation with them.

After confessing their faith, we joined together at the Lord's table to celebrate our common faith. As one family we gathered before the Savior to receive forgiveness and to have faith strengthened in the sacrament.

After the service, there was a time of fellowship to welcome the new members. It was a very special day of great joy and happiness for all the members, as we see the Holy Spirit working in hearts and bringing more souls into his kingdom. Some members were not able to attend so we are expecting more confirmations in the coming weeks.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His mercy endures forever.

A Busy Week

This week started off with another hospital visit. Freddy, one of our students, was not feeling well and needed to see a doctor. We went to see him and also helped him with some of the paperwork. He was able to get all his tests done and is now back home and feeling much better.

We also had a chance to see the progress on the building in Moca. The roof is on now and on the day we went they were pouring the floor. It is starting to look very, very nice and everyone is excited for the work to be done. There are still some "details" that need to be finished but people are already starting to plan for the future inauguration.

On our way out to Moca, we ran into some protests. This area of town that we had to drive through had been without electricity for 48 hours. That means food in the refrigerator had spoiled, no laundry is getting done, no television, and no fans for sleeping with 80 degree temperatures overnight. There were burning tires in the road and in other areas broken bottles covered the highway. We were able to get past but had to take an alternate route to get back home.

Thursday we had wedding rehearsal which turned out to be the "no" rehearsal. Some extra planning was done but they never really practiced! It was a bilingual wedding so the two pastors were able to compare notes to make the sure service went smoothly, making the transitions from English to Spanish in an orderly way. Many of the bride's family members do not speak Spanish and the groom is Dominican so his family heard the service in Spanish. Even so, there were some last minute changes to the service right before the ceremony!

Friday was the wedding, and it was gorgeous. All the decorations were expertly done and the bride was very, very beautiful. Both of the pastors gave a short message, one in Spanish for the groom's family and another is English for the bride's family. Vows were also exchanged in both languages.

Whew, this was a very busy week. This week began with a hospital visit and ended with a wedding celebration. It was a week in which the Lord gave us many opportunities to show His love, to comfort and help others, to witness to new people. The special opportunity given at the wedding was the message which was a law and gospel witness Philip was able to preach to many who are not believers. We also saw how he watched over us and kept us safe. We had a great week, filled with blessings and opportunities. Thank you, dear Savior.

Building update

Construction on the Moca building has been moving along at a steady pace. The building currently under construction will initially be used for worship but in the future will be for classes and group activities.

Cacique, a member of the Moca congregation has taken charge of the work crew and supervises the work and the purchase of construction materials to keep the work moving.


Sometimes materials are hard to find, but the workers keep at the job and the progress can be seen. It is quite a job to do construction in the hot sun, and most everything is done by hand. Even the mixing of cement is done by hand (no cement mixers).



The workers hope to get started on the roof this week. After that, the building will be painted and then the last details, windows, doors, pour cement for the floor, etc. We are thankful for good workers and hope to be in this temporary worship facility soon.

Fathers

Do you remember holding your newborn for the first time? What joy, what inexpressible pride fills your heart when we see that new life resting in your arms gazing up into your eyes. What great illusions we have of how intelligent this child will be, how this child will change the world.

As parents, we try to fulfill all our child's needs. This includes food, clothing, a home, education, security, activities that stimulate their lives and minds. As believers, we also bring our children to the Lord, where God adopts them as His children and puts faith into their hearts.

We have also seen a different phenomenon that occurs frequently in the DR - fathers raising children that are not their own. One example of this is Julio who is raising a child that is not his own. She doesn't know who her father is. Her mother is related to Julio but is no longer able to raise her daughter, so Julio has taken over that responsibility. This happens quite frequently here where people die young, or parents may lose their jobs and are unable to take of all their children, or sometimes the family is abandoned. Then other family members take over and nieces and nephews are received into other family homes. So many men are being fathers to children they have not fathered. They become fathers to them.

Julio not only provides for Angela's physical needs, he is also "training her up" in the Lord. She is receiving catechism classes and attending church services regularly. Julio tells us that Angela often cries because she feels abandoned, not knowing who is her father. He tries to comfort with the message of her heavenly Father who cares for her and loves her.

What a blessing to be born into a loving family, what greater blessing to be "brought into" a family. We have been brought into God's family, grafted in, and made His children. Thanks be to God for giving us earthly fathers that loved us and trained us in His ways. Thanks and thanks and thanksgiving be to our heavenly Father for choosing us before the creation of the world to be His children. Happy Father's Day.

I was sick and you visited me

I spend a lot of time in hospitals; not because I am a nurse and not because of poor health. The time is spent visiting and helping others who are seeking medical care. Health issues are a constant concern in a country where the majority of the population is poor. Unpaved roads, heavy rains with poor drainage systems, lack of pollution controls, littering all contribute to health problems.

Thankfully there are clinics available. You may have to wait eight hours or more for the doctor to arrive, and nine times out of ten you will be given antibiotics for whatever it is that you have, but people still use what is available.

Hospital stays usual mean bringing someone to stay with you. The room comes with a pull-out couch, but you bring your own sheet and pillow. You also must bring your own meals. You also bring your own clothes - no hospital gowns. When the doctor writes out your prescription, the pharmacy may not have the drugs you need.

Hospital visits are great opportunities to speak about Jesus, the Great Physician and how he heals of us our deadly sickness - sin. He is the doctor that is always available to listen and diagnosis your condition. And the medicine he prescribes, forgiveness, is never scarce or unavailable. Whatever our physical ailments may be, they are nothing compared to the pain of eternity in hell. Some physical ailments may not be cured, but the promise of forgiveness has no limits.

Baptized into God's Family

Does an infant sin? Can an infant believe in Jesus? Do infants need baptism? Can baptism save us? Previously, before becoming members of our WELS congregation, many of our members would have answered "no" to these questions. Many of them come from Pentecostal and Evangelical backgrounds that reject infant baptism.

What is different now? The Holy Spirit has been working in their hearts. They have learned what Scripture teaches about baptism, about our sinful condition from conception, about the power of God's Word working through baptism. What they had believed before, based on human logic and reasoning, is now rejected as false teaching. The Holy Spirit has worked faith in their hearts based on what God says and not man. What previously was staunchly rejected has now become a badge of honor, "Yes, we baptize infants."

Now they are bringing their children and infants to be baptized, believing that the Holy Spirit is working faith in these hearts from that very moment, forgiving them all their sins, making them His children and giving them eternal life. Adults, who had not been baptized are also being received as God's children.

Do infants sin? Yes. Can an infant believe in Jesus. Yes. Do infants need baptism? Yes. Can baptism save us? Yes. The Holy Spirit shows us the truth and gives us joy and comfort in his promises. "Baptism now saves you" 1 Peter 3:21